


Dedication

by BlueCatRedFox



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, Eventual Sex, Falling In Love, Fluff, Happy Ending, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-05-24 09:25:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6148990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueCatRedFox/pseuds/BlueCatRedFox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Can you be in love when you're at war?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Overpass

**Author's Note:**

> Was meant to be a one-shot, turned into more. Chapters will feel separated because of this.

The darkness crept in and the world seemed bigger than ever. Stars that Sole had never seen, before the war, were now brightly shining in the sky. No light pollution to keep them hidden. In a different lifetime, they had driven along this overpass countless times. Never taking the time to experience the stillness of life long enough, to appreciate all this place had to offer. 

“Strange how the Commonwealth changes so much at night, isn’t it?” His voice sounded strong and soft as always. Danse absentmindedly shifted the laser rifle in his hands as he looked out over the ruined cityscape. 

“Hmm?…” They turned their gaze away from the sky. Shadows of tall buildings with flecks of light, blinking from their broken windows, spilled out before them. “Yeah, it is.” They spent another quiet moment taking in the Boston skyline. “At night it’s the closest to looking like it used to.” Sole breathed in deep. The air was just a bit fresher up here. 

A light smile spread across Danse’s face. “It must have really been spectacular.” He continued to look out over the city. “It really was.” Sole replied softly. They had always liked his curiosity and sense of wonderment about the past. Danse was a strange and remarkable man to them. A constantly clashing duality. Vengeful and kind, gentle and abrasive, wise and naive, seasoned and innocent. This careful and reckless man made them want nothing more than to protect him. “Did you need something?” His voice brought them back from their thoughts and they realized they had been staring at him. He looked at them now in that questioning way he often did. “I… No, sorry. I was just thinking.” They waved him off and started to turn back the way they had been walking, before the view distracted them.

“Actually,” they turned back around to face him. He had taken a few steps towards them, thinking they were leaving, and was only an arms length away now. Sole tilted their head just slightly. “Do you…” They looked down briefly before bringing their gaze back up to meet his. “Do you remember when i told you I would never let the wasteland tear us apart, because I cared about you too much?” 

The question took him completely by surprise and he couldn’t keep it from showing on his face. “I, uh… Yes. I remember.” His cheeks flushed and he was glad for the cover of darkness. Sole smiled a bit in relief, “well, you said you would think about it.” They looked at each other for a moment, a nervous pause in the calm night. “So… have you?” Sole prompted him gently after a handful of quickening heartbeats passed. 

He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. “I have,” he managed. “I… We are at war Knight. Now is not the time to address this matter.” He watched as their smile faltered for just a split-second. He had found that they could smile through almost anything but their eyes never lied and right now the gentle pain in them caused a tightness in his chest. “I do want to talk about it,” he quickly added, internally scolded himself - he should have started with that. “When all of this is over, when the Institute has been destroyed. I want to take some leave, while the Brotherhood decides it’s next move. I’d like you to come with me at that time, so that we can discuss… um… us.” He looked into their eyes, the starlight reflecting off the tears forming there. “I’m sorry if that wasn’t the answer you were looking for…” He felt awful that they were crying. 

Sole shook their head lightly, “you are mistaken Paladin.” They smiled widely, their eyes smiling too. “I am very happy to hear that. It is all the more reason I will be looking foreword to the day when peace comes to the Commonwealth.” Their joy was contagious and he couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear when they said that. 

“Then why are you crying?” He asked as he gently reached out to wipe a tear from their cheek. His power armor felt cool on their warm skin. The gesture surprised them, it was unlike him, but they appreciated it more than he could know. They sighed and laughed lightly, leaning into the palm of his hand. “Because I have been so pleasantly surprised that I guess, I just am.” They shrugged slightly and placed their hand over his, briefly holding onto the moment. When they let go, Danse pulled his hand away slowly. Their eyes lingered on one another and they shared in a soft smile. The tension in the air had broken and they headed back out into the night. A renewed sense of direction and a promise to perhaps make a little more of this new world once they were finished saving it.


	2. Basement

It had been a few months since that night on the overpass and Danse had come to admire Sole. Not only for their skill as a soldier but for their kindness and willingness to help others in need. He was starting to wonder how exactly they felt about him. Knowing he had to wait for the answer was causing an ever growing knot to form in his stomach. They cared for him, that much he knew. They had even suggested that they would like to be close to him, when he had spoken with them about his leadership ability a while back. Remembering Sole asking if he would hold them brought a flush to his face.

He watched Sole now, picking through the ruble of the old military checkpoint. Their shoulders were broad and strong, their stance relaxed but ready. An excellent soldier, a close friend, an admirable person. Danse let out a long slow breath. He knew his choice to wait on addressing their, well, whatever they had, was the right one… Wasn’t it? He had seldom doubted his decisions and felt frustrated by it now. Frequently he found himself longing for more of them than he would allow and it was becoming harder to keep himself from it. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. In an attempt to distract himself he began to help Sole check for useful items. “What do we have here?… Nothing, all useless garbage.”

Sole laughed, “it’s not all useless Danse. You just have to know -how- to use it.” They looked over their shoulder at him and tossed something his way. He reflexively caught the item, it was an aluminum can. “See this,” Sole asked, standing up and walking over to him holding an old flip-lighter. “This is the turret that will save Abernathy Farm.” They held up a desk fan, “and this is the water purifier that Taffington Boathouse so desperately needs.”

Danse tried to keep from smiling, he loved it when they talked shop, “and this?” He motioned with the can in his hand.

“This,” Sole said in a voice that made Danse’s legs a little less steady. “This is your favorite. Power armor.” Sole smiled at his expression, they wondered if he realized how much of himself his face gave away. Gently reaching out, they took the can from his hand. They would wait for him until after the war but sometimes they just couldn’t help themselves.

“Good to know soldier.” He said in a low voice, that grin of his making Sole melt inside. They were close, very close and Danse was leaning in, ever so slowly getting nearer. “Your ingenuity is impressive and an asset to the Brotherhood.”

Sole brought themselves up slightly, a bit closer to him. If he was going to be so bold, they were not about to stop him.

He bent slightly at the waist, bringing his face closer towards Sole’s. What was he doing? He knew what was happening but he didn’t want to stop. His hand reached out to take theirs, his fingertips centimeters away. However, a thundering crackle in the sky brought them back to the realities of the wasteland in a snap. Danse’s hand dropped back to his side as he looked up at the yellow-green colored clouds. “Damn. We need to leave, now.”

Sole exhaled the breath they had been holding and nodded. They handed him some Rad-X and popped one also. There had been more than one occasion where they had spent the entire duration of the radstorm just looking for a location to shelter in.

Sole pivoted on the ball of their foot, away from Danse. Their heart was fluttering. Packing the scavenged items up quickly, their mind wandered on how far he might have gone if the storm hadn’t kicked up. Sole was blushing hard when they heard his voice.

“Ready? We need to move out.”

“Yes!” Their voice squeaked out. “Ahem, yes. Ready Paladin.”

“Good, let’s get going.”

Sole nodded and lead the way, striking up a quick pace.

Danse watched them as they moved, again his thoughts turning away from the mission at hand. Why had he told them they should wait until after the war? The Brotherhood, it was the honorable thing to do. A commanding officer and his subordinate could not be in a relationship. Certainly not while on duty… But if he truly believed that, why hadn’t he turned them down the first time they expressed their feelings for him? He had not only accepted them he had told them he’d consider it! However, when he had told them they should wait, Sole accepted that without question. So, maybe it was ok to wait, maybe he should harden his resolve. He sighed, why did this have to be so difficult? Most things were black and white to him but this was unknown territory, very unknown and very confounding.

“Danse! Lookout!” Sole yelled, breaking him from his thoughts, but it was too late. The ground beneath him trembled and Danse was sent reeling backwards as a radscorpion burst forth.

“Shit!” Sole hissed the word between their teeth. They took aim and started blasting the creature. Thankfully the abomination quickly turned its focus to then instead of the stunned paladin. Constant movement was the key. Staying away from those claws and out of range of that stinger. “Common, common, common…” They fired a few rounds into it before landing a staggering hit. The radscorpion back peddled before charging them once more.

It was only a few seconds before Danse too, was on his feet and in the game. Laser rifle poised, he didn’t hold back. The scorpion crumpled to the ground beneath their fire moments later. The storm thundering on as the sounds of battle faded.

Sole looked over at Danse, he looked very displeased and did not move his gaze from the fresh corpse. “Common, not much further,” they said, almost more to themselves than to him.  
—  
An old burnt out home with an intact cellar, turned makeshift fallout shelter, became their fallback point. Not glamorous but it would get them out of the radiation. “This place is a mess,” Sole commented as they descended the rickety wooden steps. It looked like someone had sacked the place since the last time they had been through, not surprising really.

Danse bolted the hatch closed behind them before moving to the corner of the cellar and stepping out of his power armor. It was late enough that they would stay the night here. No need for unnecessary travel with the storm overhead.

Unpacking, Sole hummed a few lines from their favorite song and tried to give Danse some space. Which was difficult in such a confined area. Sole eyed the double bed. They had slept next to one another many times. Sleeping back to back kept them warm and both found they slept better, though neither had told the other so. Tonight, however, the bed seemed too small. Their heart rate rose again as they thought about it. Of course sleeping next to him had brought thoughts of being closer to him and having less between them, but it had never made them nervous before. Before they had never thought he would act until the agreed upon time. Now they weren’t sure if he still planned to wait. Now Sole found they weren’t sure if they planned to wait either. “Get ahold of yourself,” they whispered, scolding their inability to disregard their feelings. Sole walked over to the broken chair and took a seat, leaning back with an issue of Guns and Bullets. Hopefully this would take their mind off of the current mood.

Danse was annoyed. He avoided looking in Sole’s direction as he began his evening ritual of checking his gear and preparing for the next day. That radscorpion should not have been able to take the trained soldier by surprise. He was distracted and distraction on the battlefield meant lives could be lost. He clenched his fist, digging his short nails into the flesh of his palm until the skin threatened to break. He exhaled through his nose and let go. This couldn’t continue or they’d both end up dead. “Knight, a word?” He said, without turning their way.

Sole was unable to concentrate and had been watching him over the pages of their book. They responded quickly to his question, “of course Danse. What is it?” They stood and walked halfway to him.

Danse slowly moved to meet them, his shoulders not held as squarely as usual. “I know…” He swallowed hard, this was more difficult than he would have ever anticipated. “I know we made plans. Plans for the future.”

Sole’s brow knit with concern. Danse looked away from their face, the expression too much for him to bare at that moment. “But we can’t continue this way. We are jeopardizing our lives and worse, our mission.”

“Danse, I…” Sole began to protest but his raised palm signaled them to wait, obliging they choked their words back.

“It is inappropriate for an officer and his subordinate to have relations. Furthermore, endangering both of us due to inaction is as reckless as it comes. The way I see it, we have two options. Either we agree that this is over here and now… Or we will need to split the team.” He barely finished. The words had to be forced from him with all the strength he could muster.

“Over?” Sole asked, “how can it be over, we never started anything?” They tried to keep the emotion from their voice but failed.

“So we are in agreement then, it’s done.” His voice held firm but his shoulders had fallen even more.

“No, no we are not in agreement!” They had gone from sad to angry. “If you can stand there and tell me you don’t want my affection, then fine, I will understand and respect that. But don’t you dare hide behind protocol. Don’t you dare lie to me, or to yourself. We both deserve more than that.”

Danse was taken aback. They had never gotten angry with him and rarely had he heard them raise their voice, certainly not to him. He was stunned into silence.

“Do you or do you not care for me?” Sole stared him in the eye and held their ground.

Maybe it was reflex from years of military training, “yes!” he responded to their authoritative tone. “Yes… I care about you. What of it?” He looked almost pained, “we can’t go running around the Commonwealth with that kind of relationship between us.”

“And why the hell not?” They put their hands on their hips restraining the urge to throw them into the air.

“Because it’s dangerous. Distraction has no place on the battlefield.” He looked at Sole, his face flushing red with both anger and embarrassment.

“Distraction? Why are you distracted? Have you thought about that?” Sole’s voice softened a bit and they dropped their hands to their sides. “I’m distracted too Danse. I understand the concern but why do you think we have to throw it all away. Why can’t we address our feelings. I’m….” Sole let out an exasperated breath. “I’m over the moon about you Danse and I don’t think it would be a distraction if you felt the same way. I think it could benefit us… Being closer, understanding more about each other…” Christ I must sound stupid, they thought as all their anger boiled away and anxiety took its place.

Danse had not thought of the potential relief they might find if they faced their emotions. He had been so concerned with protecting their lives, and their mission, that it never crossed his mind. “I… I’m sorry. I hadn’t thought… Look…. Damn it…” He couldn’t string a sentence together at the moment.

Sole’s eyebrows still knit, a small smile came to their lips and they laughed lightly at his speechlessness.

Danse looked momentarily perplexed, then smiled wearily back, sharing in their laughter. He sighed and looked into Sole’s eyes. “It’s not easy you know. Relationships are not something I’ve had with anything other than my power armor for a very long time.”

Was that a joke? Sole bit their bottom lip hard to keep from bursting out giggling. It didn’t work and they ended up laughing whole heartedly. Doubling over as they reached out and leaned on him for support.

He was trying to make Sole feel better but he hadn’t thought they would find it quite so funny. However, the warm hand on his chest and hearing their laughter made his mood lighten considerably.  
Sole finally came back down after a bit but they continued leaning on his chest. Pressing against him they wrapped their arms around his torso and buried their face against him, taking the paladin by surprise.

Danse looked down at them, feeling his breath catch and his heartbeat increase. It was wonderful to have them hold him and he returned the gesture, his arms encircling Sole. “… So, you’re really ‘over the moon’ about me?” He asked in a pleased tone.

“If you only knew,” they responded not pulling away or opening their eyes.

The knot in his stomach tightened again. This had been all he had wanted for far too long. They stood there locked in an embrace, not wanting to end it. “Thank you knight. I’m glad you changed my mind.”

Sole pulled back just enough to to allow themselves to stand up straight. Their full height putting them at almost equal standing with Danse. Lip twitching, they looked like they wanted to say something. Instead Sole snuggled into the crook of his neck. Breathing him in was heaven.

Danse shivered when their breath feathered across his skin. When did hugs start feeling this good?

In the silence they heard a loud crack of thunder outside followed by the patter of fat raindrops plopping to the ground. The radstorm had given way to a downpour.

Danse tightened his embrace around Sole, he wanted them closer to him, even if it was nearly impossible at this point. “So, what now?” He asked in a low and quiet tone.

“Whatever you want. We can go as slow, or as fast, as you desire.” Sole ran a hand down his back to his waist and held him tighter, returning his gesture.

Blushing profusely Danse tried to stutter out his words, “I… I mean, um, should we be getting some sleep now soldier? Or uh…” He felt like he was burning up, his thoughts turning to things other than rest.

“Oh!… Yes, sleep would be good.” Feeling a slight pang of embarrassment, Sole chuckled lightly at the misunderstanding. Pulling back they looked up at Danse, “would it be ok, if we didn’t sleep back to back, as we usually do, though?” Their expression was warm and caring, “I mean, do you think we could, be more like this?”

Danse’s blush stayed on his cheeks, he wanted to say something that would emphasize his desire to keep holding them but instead he just managed to nod.

They held one another tightly that night and slept far longer than either intended. Waking in the late morning Danse was disoriented. The sunlight peeping through the edges of the basement hatch told him they had lost quite a few daylight hours. Sole was draped over his torso. He gently reached out and ran his fingertips through their hair, recalling what had transpired the night before. Sole was ‘over the moon’ for him, he smiled remembering the sound of their voice when they said it. It made him feel so good to hear those words, he couldn’t really explain it but it felt both weighty and light at the same time. In all honesty Danse couldn’t explain most of what was going on. He had never felt this way before and had not thought it was something he would ever experience. However, they couldn’t let whatever was happening here impede their mission. It was time to get back out there, finish their objective and report back to the Prydwen.


End file.
